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World of M #170 – Guest: Hayashibara Megumi

Yes, Hayashibara Megumi was on World of M for 2 weeks straight. 🙂
Personally, I think the things said on this week’s World of M were quite valuable. Especially for those of you who, like me, have been experiencing growing fatigue between keeping up with work life and trying to gain personal time to stay sane all the while wondering whether it’s all worth it.

Before all that though, we’ve got some good laughs (actually, there were good laughs the entire way through). Haha.
We begin with the 7 Questions by Nana corner. All Nana fans are quite used to this by now, but Megumi reacts to this.
She is envious of how Nana’s name can be linked to numbers and be used in many different ways. Lol.
She even said that she can’t create t-shirts because her name can’t be shortened like Nana’s. Hahahaha.

Anyway, onto the 7 questions Nana prepared for Megumi.

1. What was your first impression of Mizuki?
Megumi: Quivery

2. What was the toughest job you had to take on?
Megumi: None

3. Under what type of situation/environment are you in when you have to write lyrics?
Megumi: Buy a new notebook

4. Was there anything different before and after you gave birth to a child?
Megumi: Everything

5. What’s the scariest thing in this world?
Megumi: Myself

6. Please say something to those aiming to become seiyuu.
Megumi: …Just do it.

7. If you were to be reborn, would you want to become Hayashibara Megumi again?
Megumi: ………Yes.

^Am I the only one who thought most of her answers were short but hilarious? XD

Right after the questions and answer corner ended, this is what Nana had to say.

Nana: The image of Hayashibara Megumi-san I’ve always had was that everything was “work, work, work.” But as we talked, I realized that there was a discrepancy.
Megumi: I’m simply someone who experienced a period of time where work buried me.
Nana: I don’t think that was all there was to it.
Megumi: No, that was all.
Nana: You actually want time off and you spend your private time wisely. You’re not all about work after all.
Megumi: I love breaks/vacation time. In order to gain that, I’m willing to lie.
Nana: *laughs* That won’t do. And while you were still single, did you go on sudden trips?
Megumi: I did. Such as suddenly going to Hokkaido when I realized the next few days were free of work.
Nana: Me too!
Megumi: And staying at a hotel that has a bar/pub.
Nana: That’s the essence of an adult woman.
Megumi: As I was drinking at the bar alone —
Nana: Kakoii~
Megumi: I thought to myself, “I’m cool.”

^Yup, Megumi is awesome. XDDD

Anyway, going back to 7 Questions, here are a bit more details.

Nana: I’m amazed you don’t have a “toughest job you had to take on.”
Megumi: Rather than “none,” it’s more of I don’t remember.
Nana: Is that so?
Megumi: I’m sure there were tough jobs. Or maybe all my jobs were tough. Every one of them. But then, in the end, it’s because of those tough jobs that allowed me to do things I couldn’t do. If I ran away from the jobs I didn’t want to take, then my path would not have continued. So treating those jobs as part of my masochism, I keep seeing new worlds. At the end of it all, everything was fine.
Nana: That’s strong optimism. Following last week’s conversation (Megumi’s famous quote series), you said that “If you don’t properly handle the on/off switch, you’ll grow tired.” At that moment, I thought “That’s true.” When I had to retake certain scenes over and over again in Shaman King, I began staring off into space and thinking to myself “Why am I like this.” And then I was told that “This is tiring. Rest, or else it’ll affect the next scene.”
Megumi: That’s because Nana you’re…how should I put this… a lucid hard worker.
Nana & Megumi: *both starts laughing*
Nana: …I guess…
Megumi: Being a hard worker is a good thing. But it’s not worth it if that hard working attitude ends up tiring out yourself.
Nana: Understood~

After this part, it’s song time. This time it’s Nana’s request of a song from Hayashibara Megumi’s Best Album – Vintage White. It’s also the opening song for a series they were both part of. Why yes, the first opening for Shaman King — OVER SOUL.

After the song…

Nana: And that was Hayashibara Megumi-san’s OVER SOUL. Ah~ That was–
Megumi: It’s been 10 years.
Nana: *pause* Waah~ So much time has passed. That was fast. A lot of memories were awakened from listening to this song.
Megumi: Yes~ That quivery Nana is now all grown up! Mommy is very happy!
Nana: Kaa-san~! I’m all grown up.
Megumi: Yes you are. Though the small parts remain small.

^LOL. I suggest not thinking too deeply about the last line there. XDD

Next we head into the Friendship Talk Corner. It’s supposedly random talk that turned half-serious and meaningful near the end.

Apparently back in school, Megumi was thought to be very mature. Although whenever she talks about this part of her past, the staff members at King Records were all “There’s no way that could be true.” But when the staff saw her friends who went to help out at an event she was a part of, they went back to her and said “You were right.” She has friends who kept going through marriage, divorce, marriage, divorce… And what does that friend say? “It’s horrible! Having to deal with name changes on the passport!” And there’s another friend who’s very smart and works at an I.T. company. She puts on sun screen on her face and the front areas, but leaves her back (I’m assuming she’s talking about times at the beach). And lack of sun screen on the back resulted in a very bad burn. “But the sun comes from the front!” What is the meaning behind those words? Neither Nana nor Megumi caught the logic (because there was none). XDD Anyway, so Megumi was surrounded by such people and she’s more or less the “stopper” in those situations. And that’s why she doesn’t get surprised by people. Lol.

There was obviously an editing cut that took place at this point and resumed with an awkward start where Megumi continues to talk about those friends. When she’s tired, whenever her friends were about to do something, she would just yell “Stop!” immediately (without actually listening to what they had to say or do). And when she was in her 20s and was insanely busy with work, there were people who comforted her and cheered her on, but on the other hand, she had friends who just said “Quit! Quit!” She never thought that the option existed until her friends said that to her, but of course, she didn’t consider it. Rather, she took it as “I’m here because I didn’t quit on my way. The option is there but I never took it — and I’m me because of that.” So to Megumi, the word “Stop” or “Quit” or “Give up” may seem very irresponsible, but they’re treasured words of hers.

Nana sums up Megumi’s experience as one of those moments where you seem to “wake up” at those words.

Megumi then adds that her friends who told her to quit probably weren’t thinking as “I’m Megu’s friend so I must say this.” In other words, her friends were firing off the word in a very irresponsible way but that’s exactly what she needed. It wasn’t comfort she needed, but unfiltered thoughts the other party was thinking.

After the sharing of such interesting and insightful experience, it’s time for another song. This time it is Amazing Grace by Hayashibara Megumi and Honda Minako. This is more of a recording collaboration as it used Honda Minako’s recording of Amazing Grace.

Following Amazing Grace is some brief promotion on Nana’s part, then leading to the famous “Bring out your voice and read the following in Japanese” corner.